Fire-shield.



D. S. WATSON.

FIRE SHIELD. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26,1911.

Patented June 16, 1914.

nome 0 COLUMIXA PLANOGRAPH 00.,WAININOI0N. b. 9.

DAVID S. WATSON, OF C ANASTOTA, NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

FIRE-SHIELD.

Patented Junelfi, 1914.

Application filed September 26, 1911. Serial No. 651,414.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, DAVID S. WATSON, of Canastota, in the county of Madison, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fire- Shields, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in fire shields of the class set forth in my pending applications #582,181, filed September 15, 1910 and #630,284, May 31, 1911, and reissue application No. 7165603 filed August 22, 1912, in so far as they relate to the use of a tubular shell of sheet metal or other heat resisting material arranged within or surrounding an opening in the floor or other partition or wall of a building or room to guard against excessive draft or passage of fire through such open- As outlined in my pending applications above referred to, this device is adapted more particularly for belt openings although it is equally applicable to any opening in the floor or partition through which belts or v other articles maybe passed, and while one of the objects is to afiord a guide for such article or articles from apoint some distance above the floor or ceiling to .a point in the room some distance below the ceiling, the main objectis to provide heat controlled means for automatically closingsaid opening or openings in case of fire to prevent the spread of the flames from one room. to another. I have found by experiment that when these shields are used as housings or guides for belts which are saturated more or less with oil and therefore highly combus tible and the shield including the closure becomes heated to a high degree of temperature, sometimes red heat, the belt becomes ignited above the closure and transmits the fire to the adjoining or superposed room into which the belt extends.

One of the objects, therefore, of my present invention is to obviate this possibility by the use of two or more gates or closures spaced some distance apart within the shield and connected for simultaneous closing so as to effectively cut off the passage of the'fire at different points throughout the length of the shield.

Another object is tween the shield and case of different material such as iron and brass to reduce the liawhich are to make the bearings bebility of corrosion and thereby assure a more positive closing of the gates in case of fire.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings Figures Land 2 are re spectively a front elevation partly bro-ken away and a side elevation of a fire protective shield cmbodyin g the various features of my invention as used in connection with floor openings. Figs. 3 and a are respectively a longitudinal vertical sectional view and a horizontal sectional view of the same fire shield taken on lines 3-3 and 4 4 Fig. 1.

This firefshield comprises an elongated tube --1- of heat resisting material, such as sheet metal, and preferably rectangular in cross sectionto conform to the general cross sectional area of a flat bcltnot shown but which is adapted to be passed therethrough. As previously stated the shield is adapted to be used in connection with a floor opening and I have therefore shown a portion of a floor -A- having an opening -ain which the tubular shell --1 is located in such manner as to project some distance above the surface of the floor and below the ceiling thereof.

In order that the shield may be adjusted to conform to different angles of belts relatively to the floors through which they pass, I provide relatively tiltable supporting brackets -2 located at opposite sides thereof and to which the tubular shell -1- is pivoted by suitable pivotal bolts -3-. The upper sides of these brackets are substantially fiat and flanged laterally and outwardly and are secured to the floor by suitable fastening means as bolts 4.- Fig. 2, said brackets being also provided with slots 5* concentric with their pivotal bolts -3- for receiving clamping bolts -6- secured to the adjacent sides of the shell 1 for holding the brackets and tubular shell in their adjusted positions. The upper portions of the brackets preferably extend forwardly and rearwardly some distance beyond the corresponding sides of the shell -1- and are connected by cross bars or plates 7 having their ends provided with elongated slots 8- for receiving clamping bolts -4. and permitting said plates to be adjusted close to the adjacent sides of the tubular shell -1- so as to prevent the passage of fire between the outer sides of the shell and adjacent sides of the flooropening. These plates 7 may be of the plates to the ample,

covered with one or more layers 10 of asbestos interposed between them and the adjacent side of the floor to reduce the liability of transmitting heat from the brack ets to said floor, it being understood. that the plates 7 are clamped between the upper faces of the brackets 2- and underside of the floor by means of the bolts l These plates, therefore, extend across the broader sides of the tubular shell l and are provided along their inner edges with downwardly deflected portions -1lforming air pockets -12 which additionally prevent the transmission of heat from these portions fioor particularly at the points immediately surrounding the openin ivotally mounted in one side of the shell -1 is a plurality of, in'this instance two, swinging gates or closures 13 and -14.- each of sufficient area to cover the entire interior area of the tube and are normally open and rest in suitable recesses l6 in the corresponding sides of the tube so as to leave ,aclear open space therethrough for the passage of a belt or other articles which the tube is intended to receive. In the present instance each gate is made of cast metal and provided at its lower edge with laterally projecting pintles 17- surrounded by bushings or collars 18- of different material such as brass which are journaled in bearings l9 in the adjacent sides of the shell to reduce the liability of corrosion and prevent sticking of the gates and also to permit the gates to gravitate more freely to their closed position when released. These gates are connected for simultaneous operation by means of a link -25- having its opposite ends pivoted to said gates in close proximity to one end thereof With just sufficient clearance to travel freely across the inside of the adjacent wall of the tube 1-, said link assuming a position in close proximity to the front wall or side of the tube to which the gates are pivoted when said gates'are in their open positions so as to leave a clear open space for the travel of the belt. 7

Any suitable heat controlled means may be employed for holding the gates in their open positions and for aiding in closing them when released and for this purpose I have provided one of the gates as, for exthe lower gate -l3- with a crank arm -20 external to the tube 1 and equipped with a weight 22-, the outer end of said arm being preferably hookshaped and connected by a fusible link or detent 23 to a coacting hook or anchorage 2 l on the adjacent side of the tube -l. The weighted crank arm 20 constitutes means for closing one of the gates while the link presently described, connecting said gates, constitutes separate means for imparting rocking movement from one of said gates to the other gate so that both gates close simultaneously from their normally open position when the Weighted crank arm 20 is released by the fusing of the detent -23 said detent constituting heat controlled means for holding the crank arm -20 in its normally elevated position, thereby normally holding the gates open.

The gates -l8 and -14- are located some distance apart one above the other, the gate --13- being near the bottom of the tube while the gate -14 is located nearer the upper end of said tube or above the fioor line leaving a considerable intervening space so that if for any reason the lower gate and adjacent portion of the tube should become overheated sufiiciently to ignite the belt and cause the latter to burn, the flame produced thereby would be additionally cut off from passing through the tube by the upper gate 14c-, thereby effectively preventing any possibility of transmission of the fire from the belt to the next adjoining or superposed room.

It will be observed that the main body of each gate -13 and -14 is normally at the inside of its axes of movement and that its transverse width is slightly greater than the corresponding width of the interior of the tube, thereby causing said gates to gravitate by their own gravity against the opposite side of the tube when released by the fusing of the detent or link 24nin case of fire, both gates operating simultaneously through the medium of the link l9-, and an under pressure by the Weights 22 When close lVhat I claim is:

1. A fire shield for wall openings comprising a tube of heat resisting material arranged in the opening and provided with a plurality of self-closing "ates spaced some distance apart and movable across the interior of the tube, said gates being connected for simultaneous opening and for simultaneous closing, and heat controlled means for holding the gates in their open positions.

2. A fire shield for wall openings comprising a tube of heat resisting material arranged in the opening and provided with a plurality of self-closing ates spaced some distance apart and mova le across the interior of the tube, heat controlled means for holding the gates in their open positions, and. connections between the gates and within the tube to cause them to move simultaneously.

3. A fire shield for wall openings co1nprising a tube of heat resisting material having recesses in one side thereof, gates hinged to such side of the tube and movable into and out of said recesses across the interior of the tube, the main bodies of the gates being normally disposed in planes at the inside of the plane of their axes of movement, connections between said gates to cause them to move simultaneously, and heat controlled means for holding the gates in their open positions.

4. A fire shield for floor openings, comprising a metal tube extending through said opening above and below the floor, normally open gates hinged within the tube in difierent planes relatively to the floor and adapted to swing across the opening through the tube, automatic means for closing one of the gates, means actuated by said one of the gates to close the other gate, and heat operated means for holding the automatic gateclosing means against action.

5. In a fire shield for floor openings, a tube extending through the floor opening above and below the floor, a normally open gate hinged within the tube to swing across the opening therethrough in a plane above the underside of the floor, a weighted mem- Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for ber, connections between said member and gate for closing the latter, and heat controlled means for detaining said weighted member.

6. A fire shield for floor openings, comprising a metal tube within the floor opening and extending above and. below the floor, a normally open gate hinged within the tube some distance below the floor, a second normally open gate hinged within the tube above the bottom of the floor, connections between said gates for closing them simultaneously, a weighted member connected to one of the gates to automatically close the same, and heat operated means for detaining said weighted member in its normal position.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 21st day of September 1911.

DAVID S. WATSON.

Witnesses:

H. E. CHAsE, E. F. SPEAKING.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Wuhington, D. O. 

